Chapter 14 I got waxed

　　Louisa's POV 　　Gold Gemdale was a high-end department store in the city center. 　　"Oh, mine. What is that?" I heard a shriek. "The miserable trio. Three banshee sisters!" 　　Dressed up to the nines and surrounded by her minions, Jessica looked like a walking 　　"Fuck off, Jessica. Go back to your fucking coven," Jackie hissed. 　　The aggressive, sassy Jackie was back. Great. 　　Jessica rolled her eyes and her nostrils flared. 　　"Did you guys smell it?" She asked the minions around her. 　　"The smell of horse shit." A girl teased me. 　　Other girls giggled. 　　"No, it's the smell of poverty," Jessica snarled. 　　"Shut up, slut!" Jackie warned. "Beat it before I step on your stupid face." 　　Leah pulled Jackie's arm and said, "Jackie, save it. We've got work to do. Let's just walk away." 　　Work? I frowned. Did someone ask them to buy me stuff? 　　Jackie gave Jessica a dark look and walked away. 　　Jessica rolled her eyes, used a finger to poke at my chest, and said, "Go back to your pathetic stable and stop making a fool of yourself. And for fuck's sake, wash your hair and do your nails before showing up in a high-end place like this." 　　I had tears in my eyes, but I couldn't say anything. 　　Whatever she said was correct. I didn't belong here. This wasn't the place I was supposed to be. 　　"Oops. Am I being too harsh on you, stable girl? My bad!" Jessica gloated. "Nevermind. I have way better things to do than stepping on a doormat like you. I'm here to pick up a tailored dress for Lucas' birthday party. The finest tailor in London spent a month working on it. It's 70,000 dollars and it's worth every penny. You know Lucas, he loves women who look expensive. He will definitely pick me to be the girl who spends the night with him." 　　Then, she floated away like a bird, joining the chattering and tittering crowd. 　　I rubbed my nose and took a glance at myself in the mirror. I looked absolutely pathetic. 　　My brown hair was a mess and it was poking in every possible direction. I didn't have time to wash it last night, so it became a bit, well, greasy, and I could see dreadlocks. There were dark circles around my eyes due to my lack of sleep. My green-colored pupils were surrounded by blood shots shaped like spider legs. I rubbed my eyes and combed my hair with my hand, walking into the shopping center under the eye inspection of the doorman. 　　I hated people staring at me like that, but I had always been the odd block in the crowd who ended up with unwanted attention. I wished I could stand out because of my appearance, but that wasn't true. I had an ordinary look. I was a five on a good hair day. And on a bad hair day like that day, I was fucking below zero. A total disaster. However, the more desperately I wanted to vanish in thin air, the more awkward I became, hence the more unwanted attention I got from others. 　　Anyway, at the end of the day, I had to face the fact that I only stood out in the crowd because I had always been taller than other girls of my age. 　　"You, the tall girl over there! I'm talking to you!" A high-pitched voice appeared from behind. 　　I knew this person was calling me, but I didn't stop. I wasn't in the mood to get any unwanted attention. 　　If I keep walking, the voice will magically disappear. I told myself. 　　But no. It didn't. 　　A man, with rainbow-colored hair, caught up with me and said, "Hey, I'm talking to you. Are you in a hurry or something?" 　　I glanced at the name tag on his vest - 　　Jeremy Levy. Personal shopper and image consultant. 　　Seriously? Give me a break. I thought to myself. I don't need a man who can't decide his hair color give me any suggestions on how to do my hair. 　　"Whatever you're selling, I don't have money and I'm not interested." I kept walking. 　　"I'm not selling you anything. I'm offering you a chance to become a new self. Take a look at yourself in the mirror. Are you happy with your hair, your skin, your eyebrows, and that baggy thing you're wearing?" 　　He raised his eyebrows. 　　"It's called an overall and it works for me. I don't want to be anyone else. I just want to be me. Go away." I stared at him, warning. 　　"Oh, mine." Jeremy covered his forehead as if he was about to faint. "Just like Alpha said. You're a work in progress in your appearance and your personality." 　　Alpha? What Alpha? This was the second time I heard this strange word in the past few days and I was certain it referred to a person. 　　Just when I was about to ask Jackie what this was all about, she dragged me into a beauty salon and shoved me onto a leather seat, which looked very expensive. 　　"Just sit back and relax. Leave everything to us. Everything will be taken care of." Leah held my arms, trying to calm me down. 　　Again, I felt much relieved when she was holding me like that. 　　Was she applying some sort of magic on me? Whenever she touched me, I felt tranquilized and... 　　Bang! 　　Leah pulled the back of my seat down. Before I realized what happened, I had already been strapped to the leather chair with my arms and legs wide spread. 　　Are they going to take away my kidney? Is this a disguised black market that trades human organs? Seriously? In a luxurious shopping center like this? How many kidneys do they have to take out every day to pay for the rent? 　　Several women, dressed up in black aprons, holding a variety of beauty products in their hands showed up from nowhere. They looked like lamenting death angels. 　　Then, they started to apply hot, gooey stuff on my arms and legs. 　　Is it honey? Are they going to marinate me in honey and eat me like a pickle?! 　　"What is this... Mucus?!" I didn't manage to finish my protest before a sharp, embarrassing scream came out of my throat. 　　I screamed because someone peeled off the wax from my left arm. The excruciating pain coming from my arm made me mad. I tried to break loose from the chair, but I couldn't. 　　"What are you doing?! Let go of me!" I shouted. 　　"Please don't struggle. This is painless waxing. We'll keep it short and sweet." A girl comforted me. 　　But she was lying. It wasn't painless. 　　It was painful. 　　Very painful. 　　"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" I screamed as they peeled off the waxing on my other limbs. 　　I leered at those women and secretly felt grateful that I only had two sets of arms and legs. 　　"Much better." Jackie examined my arms like she was inspecting some sort of merchandise and nodded to the girls. 　　Leah applied some cold cream to my limbs and said in a soothing voice, "Good. You're doing very well. Now, we only have one more task to do..." 　　"What?!" I had a really bad feeling about what was about to happen. 　　I don't think they are going to shave my head so that only leaves one part to be taken care of... 　　"Are you going to shave my pubic hair?!" I shouted in despair.